Workers made redundant may receive increased social welfare payments

Workers who are made redundant may be in line for increased social welfare payments under plans Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys will soon bring to Cabinet.

The proposals will help workers avoid the “cliff edge” loss of income when they are laid off through pay-related benefits, Ms Humphreys told reporters in Portlaoise on Monday. The proposals could see laid-off workers receive as much as €450 weekly for six months.

“I plan to bring proposals to Government shortly on what I see as a way forward in terms of cushioning that blow,” Ms Humphreys said.

Ms Humphreys said she was not sure if the proposal would make it on to the Cabinet agenda prior to the summer recess but that she was “very committed” to the plans.

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Ms Humphreys admitted that increased social welfare payments would not be immediately available to the Tara Mines workers who currently face redundancy, given that the legislation will “still take time” to pass the Oireachtas. “But it’s at an advanced stage, which is good.”

Adrian Kane, a divisional organiser with Siptu, said that while the union welcomed the Minister’s statement, there was still “a lot of detail to be worked out” on the new proposals.

“The one thing we would say, though, is that during the pandemic, the PUP payments were put in place through existing legislation so that people could go to the social welfare and get a payment,” Mr Kane said.

“We can’t see [why] there can’t be some sort of proto scheme put in place now while the Government work out the detail on these new proposals.”

Mr Kane previously called for a “major intervention” from the Government to allow for continued operations at Tara Mines in Navan, Co Meath.

On Thursday, Siptu members voted to accept proposals made by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) relating to the ongoing dispute at Tara Mines over temporary redundancies introduced by the operator of the mine, Swedish firm Boliden.

“We will be meeting later this month with management to discuss their implementation,” Mr Kane said last week in a statement. “The union will now embark on a major campaign to bring unemployment benefits in line with the EU norm. The reform of our grossly inadequate and unfair social protection system should be the lasting outcome of this dispute.”